title: Adipocyte telomere length associates negatively with adipocyte size, whereas adipose tissue telomere length associates negatively with the extent of fibrosis in severely obese women.
abstract: Telomere length can be considered as a biological marker for cell proliferation and aging. Obesity is associated with adipocyte hypertrophy and proliferation as well as with shorter telomeres in adipose tissue. As adipose tissue is a mixture of different cell types and the cellular composition of adipose tissue changes with obesity, it is unclear what determines telomere length of whole adipose tissue. We aimed to investigate telomere length in whole adipose tissue and isolated adipocytes in relation to adiposity, adipocyte hypertrophy and adipose tissue inflammation and fibrosis. Telomere length was measured by real-time PCR in visceral adipose tissue, and isolated adipocytes of 21 obese women with a waist ranging from 110 to 147 cm and age from 31 to 61 years. Telomere length in adipocytes was shorter than in whole adipose tissue. Telomere length of adipocytes but not whole adipose tissue correlated negatively with waist and adipocyte size, which was still significant after correction for age. Telomere length of whole adipose tissue associated negatively with fibrosis as determined by collagen content. Thus, in extremely obese individuals, adipocyte telomere length is a marker of adiposity, whereas whole adipose tissue telomere length reflects the extent of fibrosis and may indicate adipose tissue dysfunction.
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands [2] Einthoven Laboratory for Experimental Vascular Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: el Bouazzaoui
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands [2] Einthoven Laboratory for Experimental Vascular Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Henneman
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thijssen
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Visser
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Koning
authors.affiliation: 1] Einthoven Laboratory for Experimental Vascular Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands [2] Department of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Lips
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Rijnstate Hospital, Arnhem, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Janssen
authors.affiliation: 1] Einthoven Laboratory for Experimental Vascular Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands [2] Department of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pijl
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands [2] Einthoven Laboratory for Experimental Vascular Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Willems van Dijk
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands [2] Einthoven Laboratory for Experimental Vascular Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: van Harmelen
mesh_terms: D017667:Adipocytes / Q000648:ultrastructure; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005355:Fibrosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D006984:Hypertrophy; D050152:Intra-Abdominal Fat / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016615:Telomere / Q000648:ultrastructure